


The Best Things in Life are the Ones That Come Unexpectedly

by captainchristen



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, Hints of OT3, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-01
Updated: 2014-12-01
Packaged: 2018-02-27 16:05:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2699054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainchristen/pseuds/captainchristen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kirsch was probably dead because of her. Carmilla betrayed Laura’s trust. Carmilla was a monster. She knew that. She needed to be punished. She hurt Laura and that deserved a consequence. She deserved pain. </p>
<p>And she knew just where to get it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Things in Life are the Ones That Come Unexpectedly

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on [this post](http://queerlaferry.tumblr.com/post/103000900022/okay-but-can-you-imagine-carmilla-going-to-danny) by queerlaferry on tumblr.

There are a multitude of words one could attempt to put together in order to describe Carmilla. There are only a few people who really knew her. Only a few people she let in. To everyone else, Carmilla could be described as beautiful, graceful, confident and intimidating. Not many would describe her as a coward. But that was what she thought of herself after Laura had found out about the deal. That damn deal that she had made with her mother. Carmilla had just left the dorm room; Laura’s words resonating in her mind.

_I trusted you… I trusted you._

The words continued to ring in Carmilla’s ears. Carmilla kept walking, desperate to put space between the room that felt like home and herself. Carmilla just went wherever her legs led her. She stopped, looked up toward the stars and found them shining dimly in the night sky. Carmilla searched they skies for advice, sighed and hung her head, finding no reassurance in their light. Carmilla resumed her journey, lost in thought. She wandered around the campus, pondering her confrontation with her mother.

 _I should have done something. But I was too afraid. I should have found another option._ Carmilla told herself repeatedly. _Laura’s never going to forgive me for this. Kirsch was her friend. I just let mother take him. I should have tried to stop them._ Carmilla continued to berate herself in her thoughts. Carmilla knew how Laura would react to the deal, and she did it anyway. Carmilla had always thought of herself as a monster, but she never completely felt like one until Laura looked at her with the same look of anger and betrayal Elle gave her all those years ago. Kirsch was probably dead because of her. Carmilla betrayed Laura’s trust. Carmilla was a monster. She knew that. She needed to be punished. She hurt Laura and that deserved a consequence. She deserved pain. And she knew just where to get it.

_We’re done…. We’re done._

Carmilla could distinctly remember the hurt and betrayal in Laura’s voice when she uttered those words. Carmilla knew she should have tried harder to explain. But she just couldn’t get past the fact that Laura didn’t even take into consideration how Carmilla must have felt.  She was selfish, that much was true. All Carmilla needed was for Laura to be safe. That was all that mattered. Laura didn’t consider that Carmilla could not make a different choice.

 So Carmilla steeled herself and walked toward her newfound destination. She kept walking through the Silas campus, until she found herself outside the Summer Society Dorms. Carmilla took a breath, and deftly knocked on the door.

Danny answered.

Danny looked surprised, and rightly so. After the initial surprise faded, Danny quickly became guarded. She glared at Carmilla as she used her body to block the door. “What do you want, dead girl?

“I just…” Carmilla started. She took a deep breath and continued. “I know that you still watch Laura’s videos, so don’t waste my time pretending that you don’t. Based on the last video, I assume you have concluded that I am a selfish monster and that I should have tried harder to save them both. I let Laura down. And it’s my fault all those girls and now Kirsch are gone. So have at it.” Carmilla spoke, avoiding Danny’s eyes.

Danny was shocked. Sure she had seen the videos but she didn’t know how much the events effected Carmilla. When the taller girl saw the videos, she could immediately notice signs of emotional abuse that Carmilla showed when near her mother. Danny felt her anger at Carmilla subside. _She’s really beating herself up about all this._ Danny thought as she remembered what she had seen in the video. She could sense that Carmilla was terrified of her. Carmilla really didn’t have any other choice. “I… don’t understand. Why exactly are you here?” Danny questioned, looking at Carmilla.

Carmilla let out an exasperated sigh. She stepped closer so she was face to face with Danny. “You hate me. And maybe that’s exactly what I need right now. This whole year I’ve been convincing myself that I’m not a monster by being around Laura, and by letting myself start to care about her. By letting myself start to care about all of you, even your team of redheads.” Carmilla paused, in awe of what she had just revealed. Carmilla swallowed the lump in her throat that was becoming increasingly bigger before she continued. “But after I made that deal with my mother I realized that I am exactly what you think I am. A soulless monster. So call me names, fight me, and even stake me if you want,” Danny rose her eyebrows in surprise at this. “I deserve everything I’m going to get. I let Kirsch die so Laura could live. It was selfish, and I should have done something to save them both. But I didn’t and now Kirsch is gone and it’s all my fault. I hurt Laura, I betrayed her trust, so do your worst. I really don’t care anymore.”

The air between them was tense. Neither of them spoke a word. Danny stood there, on the porch of the Summer Society, her body rigid and hands clenched into fists. Carmilla looked away toward the ground. In her peripheral vision she could see Danny’s eyebrows furrowed and her fists shaking at her sides.

The tall redhead looked at Carmilla. The vampire girl looked towards the ground, unable to meet her eyes. Danny was upset; Kirsch was a friend. No matter how much the Zetas and the Summer Society fought, Danny and Kirsch held each other in high respect, because both knew they were just trying to protect the campus, and Laura.

Meanwhile, Carmilla hung her head as she waited for Danny to punish her. She prepared herself for the onslaught of names, the pain, punishment and anything else the Ginger Giant threw her way. She deserved it, after all. Carmilla lifted her eyes from Danny’s shaking fists to her tightly clenched jaw. Carmilla closed her eyes, prepared for the impact, both physical and verbal, which she knew would come.

But it didn’t.

Moments passed and Danny still didn’t move. She was deathly quiet. Carmilla looked into the redhead’s eyes and questioned why she wasn’t moving. She was clearly upset, judging by her body language and the fire in her eyes. _Why isn’t she doing anything?!_ Carmilla thought, frustrated. Carmilla opened her mouth, intent on saying something, anything to get Danny to just fucking _react_. _Anything_ other than this godforsaken silence. However, Carmilla never got the opportunity to say anything.

Danny’s hand reached out, and Carmilla prepped herself for a hit. But instead Danny just laid her hand gently on Carmilla’s shoulder. Carmilla’s head shot up. _What the?_ Carmilla thought, bewildered at the action. She looked up into Danny’s eyes, and attempted to see where that had come from. She could see Danny’s eyes soften. “Carmilla,” Danny began, voice soft and reassuring, “You did the right thing.”

“I…What?” Carmilla questioned. This was the opposite of how she thought the taller girl would react!

“I don’t blame you, Carmilla. I would have done the same thing if I was in your position. We both would have done anything to protect Laura.” Danny gave her a small smile before continuing, “You didn’t have a choice. Your mother gave you a deal that you couldn’t refuse. I’m pretty sure all of us would have done the same, if we were in the same circumstances as you.”

Carmilla continued to look at Danny in disbelief. This wasn’t what she came here for. She came here for anger and hatred, not compassion and understanding. Carmilla stood there awestruck. Since when had the Ginger Amazon start caring about her? Carmilla opened her mouth again, attempting to try and urge on something other than whatever _this_ was, but suddenly Carmilla found herself engulfed in the arms of the taller girl.

“It’s alright, you know. To not be okay. You’ve been through a lot,” Danny spoke softly as she held Carmilla’s body to her own. “You did what you had to. That’s all there is to it. There was nothing else you could have done, Carmilla.” Danny could feel Carmilla’s body rock solid and tense against her, so she pulled away and cradled the vampire’s face between her hands.

“Carmilla, look at me.” Danny urged gently as she brought two fingers underneath Carmilla’s chin and forced her to meet the redhead’s eyes. “Everything will be okay. We’ll figure it out.” Danny then returned her hands to Carmilla’s cheeks which she absentmindedly stroked with her thumbs. “I promise.”

“Why… Why are you doing this?” Carmilla asked her tentatively. As far as she could tell, they hated each other. Or, at least she _thought_ they did. So why was she being so damn caring?

Danny paused, and Carmilla could see conflicting emotions cross Danny’s face. Finally, Danny spoke, “I don’t really know. All I know is that have very strong feelings for you. I just can’t decipher if they are positive or negative.”

Danny looked at Carmilla. Carmilla could see how much Danny wanted to fix this. She could see how much Danny cared about her. To Carmilla’s surprise, it was a lot more than Carmilla thought. And a hell of a lot more than Carmilla thought she deserved.

So she broke.

Carmilla found herself collapsing into Danny’s arms, dissolving into a heap of tears. She vaguely felt Danny once again gather her into her strong arms and pull her tightly into a hug. But all Carmilla could do was keep crying. Something inside her broke, and three-hundred and thirty-four years of pent up feelings and emotions came flooding through.

Danny couldn’t really wrap her head around what was happening. Carmilla, the stoic, broody vampire girl who fell in love with the same girl as Danny was weeping in her arms. Danny thought many things about Carmilla, but Carmilla always seemed so confident and indestructible. _Even the strong need to feel weak sometimes._ Danny thought, pulling Carmilla tighter against her as she heard a broken sob come from the shorter girl.

They stood there for a long while, though neither could tell exactly how long. Danny could hear distraught apologies amidst the wrecked sobs and cries, which Danny merely shushed away. Danny muttered sweet nothings into Carmilla’s ear, intent on just being the rock that Carmilla desperately needed.

“It’s okay, everything will be okay.” Danny kept whispering. And as Carmilla cried Danny could feel the vampire bury her head into her chest, which induced a slight blush to appear on Danny’s face. _This so isn’t the time!_ Danny thought. She just wanted to be there for Carmilla. Other… _feelings_ could wait until later.

Carmilla felt safe in Danny’s arms. The only person who could make Carmilla feel this safe and – dare she say it – _loved_ was Laura. Carmilla’s arms were wrapped snugly around Danny’s middle, and Carmilla could feel the back of her head being cradled by Danny’s right hand. Carmilla wondered what this was, why she was feeling what she was feeling, but instead chose not to say anything. She could figure this out after they fixed things with Laura.

Carmilla’s cries slowly disappeared. However, neither girl felt like moving. They stood outside the door of the Summer Society, silent, wrapped in each other’s arms. Carmilla once again buried her head into the other girl’s chest, inhaling the scent of pine trees and peppermint that vaguely reminded her of Christmas. Carmilla smiled softly to herself. She wouldn’t mind smelling this every morning.

Meanwhile, as Danny felt Carmilla inhale the scent of Danny’s shirt, Danny leaned her head down to rest her chin on top of Carmilla’s head. Danny never really realized how tiny Carmilla was until now. Her attitude just always seemed to make her taller. But now, seeing the girl underneath all the layers, Danny allowed herself to see Carmilla in a new light. Danny buried her nose in Carmilla’s dark locks, and took a deep breath of the scent that was uniquely Carmilla; a scent that infused cigarette smoke with crisp, winter air. _I could get used to this._ Danny thought as she softly laid a kiss and hid a smile in the brunette’s hair.

Carmilla whispered softly into Danny’s chest, “Thank you, Danny.”

Danny instinctively pulled Carmilla tighter to her as she replied, “Of course, Carmilla.”

Neither girl spoke after that. Those words held more than they were both willing to admit. Both felt safe and at peace. But, like all moments, theirs had an inevitable end.

Carmilla was the first to pull away. They both let their hands drop to their sides and composed themselves. Neither looked the other in the eye. Carmilla cleared her throat, and lifted her gaze to Danny’s. “So what are you going to do?” Danny asked, her mind reeling from what had just transpired.

Carmilla thought long and hard. After a while, she finally spoke, “We both need to fix things with Laura. I think… I think we could help kill two birds with one stone.”

“What do you mean?” Danny asked, curious as to what Carmilla had in mind.

“There’s a weapon we need to get. And well, I could use a little help, Xena,” Carmilla’s voice drawled, deep and scratchy and… _Fucking sexy._ Danny thought as she felt her mouth become suddenly dry. “Want to go on a little adventure with me?” Carmilla asked Danny, smirking.

“Sounds interesting. Where are we going?” Danny asked, closing the door to the Summer Society building.

Carmilla locked Danny in an intense gaze. A thought passed between the two, and they both gave each other smiles. Carmilla spoke, “We’re going swimming. How does a thousand feet below sea level sound to you?” Carmilla asked her teasingly.

“Sounds dangerous. I’m a pretty strong swimmer; the first one to get the sword wins.” Danny challenged, seeing that both her and Carmilla were eyeing each other playfully.

“You’re saying that as if you are actually my competition.” Carmilla replied, before letting out a deep chuckle. “You’re on, Lawrence.”

“Bring it on, Karnstein.” Danny shot back. _Are we… flirting?_ Danny wondered. But she pushed that thought down. They had more important things to take care of at the moment.

Both of them started on their way, walking besides each other. As they both walked, a comfortable silence befell them. Danny turned to Carmilla when she heard her voice cut through the night. “Danny, don’t do something ridiculously stupid like die, okay?” Carmilla said as she kept her eyes on the road ahead of them.

Danny could see a hint of a blush adorning Carmilla’s cheeks, so she smiled softly, moving her hand so it could brush against Carmilla’s as they walked, and spoke. “Don’t you dare die and leave me and Laura alone, you stupid vampire. Or we’ll never forgive you.”

At those words Carmilla finally moved her head toward Danny. They locked eyes and gave each other smiles. “I wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.”


End file.
